Haas group principal Ayao Komatsu will make clear “guidelines of engagement” for brand spanking new drivers Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman to comply with within the 2025 Components 1 season.
The American squad has a historical past of flashpoints between team-mates – with former drivers Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean colliding a number of occasions in 2019, whereas Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin repeatedly tried to occupy the identical items of racetrack in 2021.
These incidents occurred on the watch of former group boss Guenther Steiner, with Komatsu chief race engineer till his elevation to group boss initially of final season, when Haas ran Nico Hulkenberg alongside Magnussen for the second yr in succession.
That duo solely had one actually contentious second through the 2024 marketing campaign – when Hulkenberg was unexpectedly undercut by Magnussen after struggling a barely sluggish pitstop on the Austrian GP and so they subsequently duked it out on monitor.
However, given Ocon has a substantial checkered historical past of incidents together with his F1 team-mates – from his days racing Sergio Perez at Power India by way of to his clashes with Fernando Alonso after which Pierre Gasly at Alpine – questions have already been raised about what may occur in his new relationship with rookie Bearman.
When requested if he can be doing something completely different when it comes to establishing clear racing guidelines at Haas this yr or if he was selecting to see how issues develop, Komatsu, who pushed arduous to safe Ocon’s providers in 2025, replied: “No – guidelines of engagement need to be completely clear. From day one. So, that will likely be clarified earlier than the primary race.
Esteban Ocon, Haas F1 Workforce
Picture by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Pictures
“I do not count on any team-mate contacts, DNFs, due to that. But it surely’s good, it’s important to race arduous.
“Take a look at final yr – Kevin is a tough racer after which Kevin and Nico, the closest we got here to a difficulty, which did not turn out to be a difficulty, was Austria, proper? However that is partly as a result of we operated in a not excellent method when it comes to pitstop timing. We did not assist ourselves.
“So, as a group, we should not be creating these messes. However, additionally, with the understanding of one another as team-mates, the foundations of engagement can be completely clear.”
Komatsu additionally stated he was not wanting again to the “utterly completely different period and dynamics and drivers” of the Mazepin-Schumacher Haas line-up in 2021 with regards to setting out how he needs his squad’s new drivers to function in 2025.
“No,” he stated. “You take a look at how we operated final yr after which how we are able to enhance as a group, what we did good final yr, what we may have improved final yr, after which take that studying for this yr.
“So, I do not look that far again to 2021. [And] with Esteban, with Ollie, these are two very, superb drivers. They each acquired much more to show, yeah…
“But it surely’s humorous about Ollie being a rookie, I do not deal with him as a rookie. He can drive loads, with these younger engineers as nicely, [they will] develop collectively.
“We do not deal with him as a rookie within the sense that we pay numerous consideration to what he has to say, due to course he is acquired good expertise in Ferrari’s schooling [and] simulator.
“And he is been driving our automobile – VF-23 and VF-24. Each time he will get within the automobile, his suggestions’s been glorious. The strategy has been glorious, pace has been nice.
“You noticed in Baku and Interlagos [where Bearman raced in place of Magnussen last year], each qualifying periods he outqualified Nico who was our reference, proper? I believe we acquired an excellent mixture [with Ocon]. Actually wanting ahead to it.”
Learn Additionally:
On this article
Alex Kalinauckas
Components 1
Esteban Ocon
Oliver Bearman
Haas F1 Workforce
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